Looking for a gentle way to get into loving-kindness meditation? Or to deepen your practice based on the Buddha’s discourses? If so, head to the Dhamma Sukha Meditation Center, two hours south of St. Louis, for a four-day retreat this fall.
From Wednesday, October 8th to Sunday, October 12th, 2025, co-guides David Johnson and Kirsten Jones are offering an immersive introduction to Tranquil Wisdom Insight Meditation (TWIM), a simple and joyful way to practice mindfulness of loving-kindness (metta).
Even if you’ve been practicing TWIM for a long time, this will be a good one to catch. The trees should be at the height of their fall colors. Crisp autumn weather makes for cozy meditations. In short, the Ozarks are beautiful in October, and it’s a great time to practice metta meditation with others! As always at DSMC, you get a private cabin to stay in, and the food is both excellent and accommodating to most diets (omnivorous, vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free).
Here’s what you can expect on this short retreat:
- Wednesday: Arrive and settle in with an introduction to Tranquil Wisdom Insight Meditation.
- Thursday: Meditate as much as you like, share a metta circle, and enjoy a Dhamma talk.
- Friday: Meditate more, gather for the Walking Water Bowl Meditation (a great lesson in mindfulness!), plus another talk. Get one-on-one guidance from an experienced meditation teacher.
- Saturday: More meditation—and a relaxing sound bath concert. You’ll have another personal teacher interview, too.
- Sunday: Wake up, meditate, have breakfast, and head home.
- Daily schedule: 6 a.m. wake-up to 9 p.m. bedtime (recommended, but totally your call!)
- All-inclusive $425 fee covers costs.
- Speaking of fees, DSMC doesn’t profit off retreats, they just charge enough to keep everything going. Of course, additional donations (called dana, or generosity, in the Buddhist tradition) are always welcome!
Spaces are limited, so if you’d like to practice lots of loving-kindness meditation while enjoying crisp autumn air, nourishing food, and a warm community, sign up soon!
Learn more about the October Intro to TWIM retreat straight from the source.
